Those overalls I covet

Though a few posts (days) ago I asserted I would not be decorating for holiday festivity, I since changed my mind. I decided I ought not to shun the delights of the season just because I anticipate pain in the nostalgia or loneliness. Rather, I can choose to find joy amidst the loss, pain, and loneliness.
"Hello, Loss, I see you are here, along with your companions grief and pain. Also present are loneliness and longing. The holidays can be especially difficult for all of you, I know. I will sit with you, accept you, cherish you for the gifts you bring to me - wisdom, resilience, compassion, and growth. I will not ignore you. I will not pretend to cast you out. When you are ready to leave, you will go.  Meanwhile, I offer compassion and love."

So, since I am learning to sit with, in tenderness, acceptance, and patience, the difficult emotions and aspects of self, I will do so while also embracing joy, remembrance, and hope with the same tenderness, acceptance, and patience.

I did buy a tree and now am savoring the unpacking of decorations one by one and affixing it just so on the tree. Loved ones, moment, memories, trips, and creative undertakings swirl into the now, and I smile.